Given name & surname · also Scottish
Murray
“the lord of the sea”
Murray is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “the lord of the sea.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “the lord of the sea.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Scottish.
How it developed
From Medieval Latin Moravia, from Scottish Gaelic Moireibh, from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Murray through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22,299
- 21,908 boys · 391 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 635 babies
- 2025
- 58
- #2,633 for boys · #11,607 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 50 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,633 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 628 in 1922. It also appeared in 8 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,102 as a first name in 2020; 179,133 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Murray’s family of names
Murray has a related form in Murry. Murray has a related form in Moray. Murray has a related form in Moray.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Murray
- Murray Gell-MannAmerican physicist (1929–2019)
- F. Murray AbrahamAmerican actor (born 1939)
- Murray RothbardAmerican economist (1926–1995)
- Murray BookchinAmerican libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher (1921–2006)
- Murray PerahiaAmerican pianist and conductor (born 1947)
- Murray WalkerBritish motorsport commentator and journalist (1923–2021)
- Murray RoseAustralian swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder (1939-2012)
- Murray HalbergNew Zealand athlete and philanthropist (1933–2022)
- Murray HeadBritish actor and singerborn 1946
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Murray, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mervin
“a friend of the sea”
>99% boys
Clarence
“from the Clare river”
>99% boys
Hurley
“a healthy woman” · “of the sea tide”
96% boys · 4% girls
Irving
“a triend of the sea”
>99% boys
Dorsey
“from the fortress near the sea”
87% boys · 13% girls
Marvin
“a friend of the sea”
>99% boys
Maurice
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys
Merlin
Merlin is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
82% boys · 18% girls